Holy Habits - Observe the Sabbath (Daily Devotional)

Hello everyone and welcome to Living Supernaturally, the daily devotionals of All Peoples church, where we take a few minutes every day to spend time in God's word to build our faith up, to remind us, to encourage us, mainly to live a life that is fruitful for God's kingdom. This week, we will be focusing on the theme holy habits, building godly habits to live a godly life. Today, I just want to encourage us to develop the habit of observing the Sabbath. Mark chapter 2 and verse 27, ‘the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.’ Jesus here is saying the Sabbath is made for man. The whole concept of Sabbath, rest, godly rest, is made for us, it is a promise. Rest is not a laziness, it is trust in God. In Genesis chapter 2, verses 2 to 3, it tells us that God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. God wasn't tired, but He rested on that day and He called it holy. He set apart that day and He called it holy and He rested. He created rest itself as something sacred, something worth honoring. Sabbath reminds us of a vital truth; our lives don't depend on our own effort and hustle. God is still working, still holding things together even when we rest, even when we stop. This is so counter cultural to the generation that we're living in, where everyone glorifies the hustle culture or being productive or work non-stop. But really, this is a kingdom culture to observe the Sabbath, observe godly rest. A simple way to practice godly rest is an acronym ‘r e s t’. R for remember; remember God's goodness and what He has already done. E for enjoy; enjoy God's presence, not only His provision. S, slow down; slow down with people around you instead of just rushing past them, especially with family. T for trust; trust that God is still working even in the moments when you choose to rest. So really, four simple ways that we can practice godly kind of rest. One, remember. Two, enjoy. Three, slow down and trust. And I pray that each one of us will take some time to intentionally slow down and to rest in God's presence. So, this week, maybe you can block a specific time of the week or a few hours to intensely slow down, unplug from your screens, maybe spend time with people that you love, and remind yourself that God is still in control. Be in His presence, enjoy His presence. And I pray that this habit will enable us to truly rest in God's presence. Let's pray, Father, we just thank you once again for this reminder. Thank you for this truth that you are the one that has created for us the Sabbath. You called it holy and sacred. I pray that each one of us in your church, each one of us who follow you, would observe the Sabbath, that we will truly know what it means to rest in your presence, to slow down. We know the things of life can take us away and sometimes, Lord, it gets overwhelming, but I pray that you will give us the wisdom, the understanding to truly rest in your presence, that we will intensely take moments in the week or a few hours in the week to rest, to remember, to enjoy, to trust in you, and to rest in you. So, thank you for this promise over our life, and I pray that we will build this habit to rest in your presence, to observe the Sabbath. Thank you once again for this time, in Jesus' mighty name we pray, Amen.
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